


Chemistry and Confidence

by Palipitoad



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, But I know other Jearmin shippers will appreaciate this fanfic, Fluff, I am official Jearmin trash, If it's actually good idk, Jean x Armin - Freeform, Jearmin - Freeform, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-04-01 09:02:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4013785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palipitoad/pseuds/Palipitoad
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin has to do a chemistry project and suddenly gets asked by his crush, Jean Kirstein, to be his project partner, but they haven't EVER said a word to each other before. Armin keeps on wondering why Jean would ask him of all people to be his project partner and not his best friend, Marco. Does Jean like Armin the way Armin likes Jean or does Jean just want a good grade?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Confidence is Key

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, so constructive criticism is appreaciated! Also as a small note, English isn't my native language, so there are probably gonna be LOTS of grammer or just general mistakes. I'm working on the second chapter right now, so it'll take a lil while for the second chapter to be released. Anyway, enjoy this intro to my Jearmin fanfic!

“Get up sweetie, it’s time for school!” Armin’s mother yelled from downstairs, the young blond responded with a soft groan and a slightly annoyed yes. Armin got out of bed and shuffled slowly over to his closet and got out his school uniform. His school uniform consisted of a black, long sleeved vest with underneath that a white t-shirt, a blue tie and black trousers. He quickly put on his uniform and scanned the room trying to find his messenger bag he used for school. 

“Did I leave it downstairs maybe?” He asked himself, but the boy noticed that he really had to hurry when he took a quick glance at the digital clock on his desk. “8 am already? I promised Eren and Mikasa that I’d meet them at the park at a quarter past 8 so we could walk to school together, damn!” After a few minutes of searching he found his bag hidden underneath his desk.

He hurried down the stairs, almost tripping over his own feet in the process. “Be careful, honey” Armin’s mother said while putting his breakfast and packed lunch on the dinner table. “Sorry mom, I promised Eren and Mikasa I’d meet them at the park so I’m really in a hurry.” “Is everything alright, sweetie?” His mom asked, “You keep oversleeping, this isn’t like you at all.” “Don’t worry mom”, Armin said trying to comfort his mother so she wouldn’t worry like she usually does. “Everything’s fine, I’ve just got loads of school work.” 

His mother was a short statured woman with short blond hair very much like Armin’s. She was also very protective of Armin and worried a lot about her child, she knew he wasn’t the strongest, most confident teen so she’d worry a lot about him getting bullied by his classmates, but in reality no one dared to because then Mikasa would step in and things would get ugly for the bullies. Even though she was very protective of her son, Armin still loved her very much. His father was rarely home though, he was a hard working analyst who worked day and night to assure his family financial stability. Even though Armin was his child, they hardly looked alike. Armin was short, pale and had blond hair while his dad was a tall, slightly tanned man with brown hair. The only thing he and his son had alike, was their intellect and their shared interest in sciences like chemistry, physics and biology. 

Armin hurried to finish his breakfast and put his packed lunch in his bag. “Have a nice day at school, honey” Armin’s mother told her son as she softly placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks mom” Armin said with a smile on his face. 

When Armin opened the door, he was greeted with a bright, sunny morning. The wind blew and the trees followed its rhythm, making the leaves dance in the wind. It was a very peaceful morning yet Armin didn’t have time to enjoy it. He hurried over to the park close to his house to meet up with his childhood friends Mikasa and Eren. The three of them were inseparable all the way from when they met to the current time, even though they were pretty different from Armin. 

Eren was a impulsive, occasionally ill-tempered young man with tanned skin and short, brown hair. His adopted sister, Mikasa, was a strong, beautiful young women who could come over as a cold-hearted individual, but she was actually someone who loved her brother and her friends more than anything. 

Armin arrived at the park, he immediately saw his friends waiting on a park bench. Eren noticed that Armin had arrived and spoke up. 

“Yo! Armin!” Eren shouted to Armin while Armin approached the two. “You’re late, this isn’t like you at all, Armin. Is everything alright?” Mikasa asked with a slight concerned look on her face. “My mom said the same exact thing this morning, but don’t worry about it Mikasa, I’m fine!” Armin reassured his friend. “But anyway let’s go guys, if we don’t go now, we might be late for class” Armin continued. Eren and Mikasa got off the bench and the three of them left the park to head off to school. 

The walk to school mostly consisted of Eren talking and Armin and Mikasa listening and responding. They talked about homework, tests, a new video game Eren got (which, supposedly, was the best game ever according to Eren) and whatever recently happened in their lives. 

They arrived at school and were just in time before first period started. There were hardly any students left on the school yard, but that was probably because class started in 5 minutes. Eren, Mikasa and Armin hurried over to their lockers, taking out their shoes and putting them on. After putting on their shoes, they scurried over to their classroom, hoping that they weren’t late but if so, the teacher would just brush it off. Luckily, when the three arrived at the classroom, the teacher was still absent. They took their seats and got out their English Literature books. 

Armin finally got a breather, he was finally able to calm down. Right after Armin and the others had arrived, the teacher entered the class, seemingly eager to start another class of English Literature. 

“Come on everyone, sit down, let’s start class” she said while taking out her own books, but the class didn’t seem to be ready to start class. They just kept talking but, fortunately for the teacher, they calmed down after a few moments. The teacher started class with a lecture about the main differences between modern literature and older literature, but unlike usual, Armin couldn’t keep his attention. 

He kept thinking about what happened a few days back. Jean, a tall, short haired boy who also happened to be Armin’s crush, asked him to be his partner for a chemistry project. This was strange, because he did most of his projects with his best friend, Marco. Besides Armin and Jean barely knew each other. Why would Jean ask Armin of all people to be his project partner? For good grade or maybe Jean wanted to get closer to him, but that was just wishful thinking. Armin knew Jean just wanted a good grade for chemistry, Armin was at the top of his chemistry class while Jean was at the absolute low. He just had a little bit of hope that Jean did wanted to get closer to him. 

His thoughts got interrupted by his teacher hissing at him “Armin, pay attention!” and a quite affronted glare. He quickly got his act together and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying, but eventually he lost focus again. 

Classes went by one after another, like someone had pressed a fast forward button or something. English Literature, Physics, Biology, and Math. They all went by in a flash. Suddenly, when Armin was about to head home and start on his homework, Sasha called his name from out the front of the classroom. 

“Armin! Jean’s here for you!” said Sasha in her normal, peppy voice. “Jean?” Armin thought “Why is Jean here, is it about the chemistry project?” He headed over to Sasha to meet with Jean. When he arrived, Sasha spoke up before Jean or Armin could even say a word. “Well I gotta go, see ya!” She said as she headed for the door. 

Jean picked up the conversation “Yo, Armin” “Hi Jean” Armin replied feeling slightly awkward and anxious at the same time. “So we gotta work on our project, wanna do it at my house or yours?” Jean asked while Armin had barely time to grasp the conversation. “Oh our chemistry project, uhm yeah my house is okay” “Sure, around 6 then?” “Yeah sure!” “Cool, see ya then” Jean said walking off into the empty hallways. 

Even though Armin was exciting to spend time with his crush, he was terrified at the same time, yet his expression remained placid, black. The conversation went by, just like class that day, very quickly. It was like Jean didn’t feel like talking to him at all, like he just wanted the conversation to be over soon, done as fast as humanely possible. To be honest, that was probably the longest Jean and Armin ever talked to each other. 

Armin quickly gathered his thoughts and went home, deciding he wouldn’t question whether Jean actually wanted to do something with him at all, yet it kept lingering in the back of his mind. Because of that, the road home was a seemingly long, an almost endless one. Armin kept questioning Jean’s true intentions of working together. Was it because he wanted a good grade? Was it because wanted to get closer to him? The more Armin repeated that last thought, the more unlikely it seemed. 

After repeating it several times, his bland expression turned into one of sorrow. His eye lids felt heavy and so did his shoulders, his legs, his everything. Armin dragged himself home, but before entering his house, put up a fake smile. The only reason why he did this was because of his mother. She would be worried sick if she saw Armin so lachrymosed. 

He slowly pulled out his front door key and put it in the key hole, turning it slower than usual. He slowly pulled open the big, wooden and was greeted with a dark, quiet, and empty house. Immediately after noticing that his mother was absent from the house, he dropped his fake smile. While closing the door, he threw his school bag besides him. The bag hit the ground with a loud thud that echoed slightly throughout the house. 

Armin dragged himself towards the hallway and up the stairs. He headed straight towards his room and directly to his bed. He decided he was too tired to make any homework and slumped, exhausted, onto his bed. Armin’s eye lids felt even heavier than on the way to his home and after only a few seconds he fell asleep.


	2. Chemistry and Affair of the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jean comes over at Armin's house to work on their chemistry project. They work hard to finish it, but afterward they are very tired. Suddenly Jean gets bombarded with "weird" thoughts about Armin, where did those come from anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally done with the second chapter, hope you guys like it! Sorry that it has been taking a while for me to post the second chapter, I had a lot of stuff going on like, loads of test and projects myself! But anyway in this chapter something actually happens instead of laying the foundation of the fanfic, so hope you guys enjoy that. I'll get busy with the third chapter soon, so look forward to that!

Armin slowly woke up to the sound of his front door bell being rung frantically. He leisurely opened his eyes and dragged himself out of bed. Still half asleep he thought, “What time is it?” His eyes shot open as he looked at the digital clock on his desk. It was already multiple minutes past six. “That’s Jean at the door!” Armin suddenly realized. 

He hurried out of his room and down the stairs, running a little too agile as he almost crashed into the big, wooden front door. He opened the door and there stood the very provoked, tall boy, Jean. “Finally!” Jean grunted out loud. “I’ve been waiting here for such a long ass time now, why didn’t ya open up the door, Armin?” He asked slightly less fuming than before. “I’m really sorry, Jean!” Armin in a quite trouble tone of voice. “I fell asleep on my bed, I’m sorry you had to wait here so long!” He told Jean, hoping he’d forgive Armin. 

“It’s okay, let’s just get on with the project” Jean told him while entering his house. Jean hung up his jacket on the coat rack next to the door as Armin closed the door behind him. “I’ll go get snacks and drinks, you just make yourself comfortable” Jean immediately responded, “where do you wanna work though?” Before Armin could escape to the kitchen to collect his thoughts. “Sure!” Armin said not immediately realizing what he said. His cheeks quickly got a rosy tint after he became cognizant of what he had just said. 

“Try not to embarrass yourself too much” Armin thought as his blush slowly faded away. While searching for something to eat, he reflected on any topics he and Jean could discus. The weather? No, that was out of the question considering Armin hasn’t been outside since he got home and dozed off. Maybe something more opinionated, like hobbies? Well that certainly wasn’t inconceivable. “Hobbies, yeah, I’ll go with that” Armin thought to himself, letting out a deep sigh. 

With two glasses filled with soda and a big bowel of chips, Armin headed towards the living room, assuming Jean would be there. He turned around corner between the hallway and the living room and his assumptions were confirmed. Jean had made himself comfortable on the beige couch, he sat slightly slumped over and was looking on his smartphone supposedly texting Marco or any of his other million of friends. 

Jean was a quite popular boy in his class who would fight occasionally with Eren. For some reason Eren and Jean never got along very well, yet Jean had an eye for Mikasa. Unfortunately for him though, Mikasa was absolutely revulsed by him. Armin wondered if anyone really cared enough to want to know something about Jean’s personality, instead of his good looks and suave way of talking. No one, not even Marco, knew anything about his household, his parents or just his life after school in general. Wasn’t at least someone interested what was behind that pretty face? 

Armin entered the living room and put the refreshments on the coffee table in front of the couch Jean was sitting on. He sat down on the couch next to Jean as he started discussing their project. “Do you have any ideas on what we should do our report about?” Jean asked clearly having no idea himself. “Well, I thought we could do it about green chemistry, the philosophy of green chemistry is quite prominent considering the whole issue of pollution” Armin said. “Green chemistry? What the fuck is that?” Jean asked Armin in a very confused state. “It’s basically using another form of fuel instead of fossil fuels to lessen the pollution from combustion” Armin explained trying to keep it as simple as possible for someone as thick skulled as Jean. 

“Using biomasses like bio fuel and bio diesel goes against the climate change, so it’s a really good topic for us to use” “Sure, whatever” Jean replied monotonous obviously not caring. After deciding the subject, they started working on writing down information about green chemistry. The principles of green chemistry, examples, any controversy surrounding green chemistry, and much more. When time went on, Jean seemed to seem less disinterested and distant and more sympathetic and rather enthusiastic, a side of Jean Armin had never seen. Unlike his grades tried elucidate, Jean was actually quite intelligent and was in fact very interested in chemistry. It didn’t take long for Jean to fully understand green chemistry and its surrounding subjects. 

It was around 8 pm, the two boys just had some dinner and went directly back to their project. Jean was finishing up the project while Armin was taking a break. Armin’s mother had called saying she was staying at Armin’s grandmother’s house considering she was in poor health and had to be monitored for a while. 

“Hey, Armin, I got a question” Jean asked. Armin scooted over to Jean, getting closer to Jean as he asked “What’s wrong?” in a throaty voice. “Well, I thought that we could maybe go more in depth about funding and how using green chemistry could save money” Armin agreed in a quiet voice. “Armin, what’s wrong?” Jean said noticing Armin was barely listening. “It’s nothing really, I’m just sort of tired” Armin said as his eyelids began to feel heavy. Trying to fight the fatigue, Armin tried his best to focus on the work at hand, but to no avail. His eye lids slowly closed and his head fell on Jean’s shoulder. After only a few seconds, Armin was already asleep. 

Jean looked at Armin surprised, but immediately saw that he had fallen asleep. A thought went through Jean’s head that took him by surprise. “He looks kinda cute while sleeping” Jean paused for a small moment as he thought about what had just gone through his head. “Wait, do I have a crush on Armin?” Jean thought. He disregarded the presumption that he was infatuated with Armin. It wouldn’t make sense, he already liked Mikasa. “No, it wouldn’t be that weird, I mean bisexuality exists” Jean deduced. 

Then he noticed that Armin was sliding off of his shoulder. Jean, being slightly concerned that Armin would fall, gently took hold of Armin’s head and placed him on his lap. Jean ran his fingers through Armin’s soft, blond hair. To his own surprise Jean cherished this small moment he had with Armin. He gazed upon Armin’s small, delicate face, taking in his fine features. His small nose, his long eyelashes, his soft looking lips. 

Jean grew tense as he realized what he was doing. “Oh god, I’m being such a creep right now” Jean thought anxiously. “What if he woke up to me running my fingers through his hair and staring at him, he’d be weirded out for sure”

Jean looked over at the analog clock fixed to the wall. “A quarter past eight already? I’m way too tired for it to be only that early” He thought while fatigue was taking over. Jean leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He put his left hand on the couch and his right one on Armin’s chest. Armin was fast asleep, considering he hadn’t said anything about his head being on Jean’s lap and even if he was, Jean would’ve noticed a deep shade of red on Armin’s cheeks, mostly because Armin’s face was quite close to Jean’s crotch.

Jean knew it was safe to go to sleep, so he did. He didn’t care about what would happen in the morning or how he’d explain to Armin how he woke up on Jean’s lap, he just wanted to rest.


	3. The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After discovering that Armin had slept on Jean's lap on the couch, Armin goes to the kitchen to hide his embarrassment while Jean's still asleep, but he finds something on the kitchen table that draws his attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I'm finally done with chapter three!! Sorry that it took so long, I had sort of a writer's block, but this chapter turned out great. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, cause now the real juicy stuff starts to happen. I'll be busy writing the next chapter, which will probably be the last, but that might take a while as well. Anyway, enjoy chapter three: The Dance.

Chirping birds could be heard as Armin slowly woke up, his big, blue eyes still being full of sleep. He slowly sat up and started rubbing his eyes trying to get the sleep out of them, noticing that he’s still in his school uniform. He slowly directed his hands towards his short, blond hair. Armin gently did his hair, patting and rubbing it down until his hair looked as cute and perfectly bowl-shaped as ever. 

“Where’s Jean?” Armin thought immediately after waking up, examining the living room. “I can barely remember anything from last night, writing the whole essay took like two hours” 

Armin pondered absentmindedly, still being in the process of looking for Jean. He glanced around the room and spotted something beneath him on the couch, but before he question who it was, his question was answered as he looked at the reason why the couch felt so strange. 

Where Armin had just put his head was on the outstretched legs of Jean, his crush. Armin’s face flushed a deep red color and his pupils dilated as he looked at the young boy who was still asleep, unaware of the embarrassment that stroke Armin. He looked the other boy up and down with a burning redness on his face, his heart beating as fast as the hooves of a horse on a racetrack. 

Armin couldn’t take his eyes off of Jean’s figure, no matter how hard he tried. His figure wasn’t the only thing that enticed Armin, his beautiful cheekbones, his delicate lips, his everything. A smile gradually grew on his face and faded away slowly as he realized that Jean could wake up any minute. 

He quickly stood up and headed towards the kitchen taking a quick glance back Jean to see if he had woken up. “How did I fall asleep on his lap anyway?” He thought as he tried his best attempts to calm himself down. “Maybe I just fell asleep on the couch and Jean had no other place to sleep, so he just put my head on his lap so he could sleep on the couch too” He thought “Yeah, that must be it” Armin deduced finally having calmed down slightly though it still felt like his heart was beating as fast as a mouse’s. 

His attention was quickly drawn to an old phonograph on the kitchen table with besides it laying numerous records. “Oh yeah, mom bought that thing a while ago, but she hasn’t been using it at all” Armin thought to himself. He went over to the records to examine them and grabbed the first one off of the stack of records. “Oh! I know this song!” Armin whispered to himself. “Piano Etude” was the name of the song. He lifted up the stylus and gently placed the record in the indentation, but before he could put down the stylus again, a voice emanated from the living room making Armin jump slightly. 

“Hey Armin, what’re you doing?” Jean asked from the other side of the kitchen. “I… I just wanted to play some music, you don’t mind right?” “Nah, it’s fine by me” Jean said, walking back and forth through the kitchen. The needle was placed upon the record and the record started turning. The soft, low quality sound of a piano being played could be heard coming from the record player. 

“Classical? So boring” Jean pointed out clearly stating his opinion about the music piece. Armin felt somewhat ashamed for liking this song considering Jean’s remark, but he gathered up his courage and spoke. “Really? I love this song” Armin started “The supple sound of the strings being hit, the harmony of this song, the obvious passion that someone put into making this beautiful song just seeps through the air like a breeze” He stopped, turned his head towards Jean and gave him a warm smile. “Don’t you think so too, Jean?” Jean was amazed by Armin’s statement and replied, “Yeah, I guess so….” 

Nothing could be heard from both of the young boys as they both directed their stares towards the ground. Suddenly, Jean held out his hand and said jokingly, “Care for a dance, my good sir?” Armin giggled and replied, “I would be honored” 

Jean took both of Armin’s hand into his, Jean placing one of his hands underneath Armin’s shoulder and Armin placing one of his hands on Jean’s shoulder. As they started moving, they extended their other arm. They slowly moved step by step, Jean taking the lead. As time went on, dancing went less difficult. They both were smiling and laughing while almost predicting each other’s moves, the rhythm of the music driving them. They looked into each other’s eyes as both of their smiles grew wider, neither of them thinking about anything else except the dance. 

Then, the music came to an end, the record stopped spinning and the needle popped off of the record. The only things that could be heard in the kitchen were the creaking of the floorboards beneath the dancing boys’ feet and their giggling, both of those slowly trailing off into silence. 

Jean grasp on Armin’s hands tightened and he felt a strange sensation in his chest. Looking into Armin’s eyes, Jean’s heartbeat quickened. Armin looked at him with thrilling anticipation, anticipation for what, he didn’t know. Jean slowly let go of Armin’s hands and glanced at the ground in embarrassment. 

“I think I gotta go, my mom might be pissed at me for staying over so long” He said, avoiding Armin’s gaze. “Right” Armin softly replied, obviously being disappointed Jean couldn’t stay any longer. “But, ya know”, Jean said finally looking at Armin, “It was fun, I mean for having to do an essay” “Yeah, I thought so too” Armin agreed as he followed Jean towards the front door. 

“Maybe, we could hang out more often, like after school” Jean proposed while grabbing his jacket off of the coat rack. “Of course, I’d love to!” Armin responded enthusiastically, making Jean smile. Armin quickly ran over to the door to let Jean out, but before Jean left he turned around and said “Uhm, I don’t really know how to say this, but” He paused as he took a look at Armin standing in the doorway and he continued, “You won’t tell anybody about our dance, right?” “Was is that embarrassing?” Armin said. “No, it’s just, well, yeah” Jean exclaimed, hoping not to disappoint Armin. “It’s okay, really” Armin giggled, relieving Jean. 

“See ya on Monday, Armin” Jean said as he turned around and walked away. Armin responded with a gentle smile and a slow wave. 

As Jean left, Armin closed the door, letting out a huge sigh of relieve. “That went better than expected” He thought, skipping over to the couch. He grabbed a book off of the shelf in the living room and let himself fall on the couch. Armin opened the book as he made himself comfortable on the couch, preparing for the weekend ahead.


	4. Music Theory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armin and Jean finished up the chemistry project, but Armin feels uncomfortable. The things he said, the things he did. But a new week of school arrives, meaning he can't avoid Jean forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I took like seven months updating this fanfic, I was hella busy with an OC story and I didn't really feel like finishing this one. But it's done now and the next, and possibly, final chapter of this fic will be worked on as soon as possible. I appreaciate the support, thanks guys!!

Monday mornings usually didn’t bother Armin too much, unlike other people. School wasn’t too difficult or very boring to him and he always got to hang out with his friends. But, today was different. He reluctantly walked to school together with Eren and Mikasa, his two best friends. He could hardly focus on what Eren was enthusiastically rambling on about again. The one thing on his mind, was Jean. About that Saterday at Armin’s house, about the things he had said about that song, about how they had danced together in the kitchen. Every time he thought about it, he cringed. “Ugh, the one time I decide to speak up, I say something stupid as hell” He thought “The obvious passion that someone put into making this beautiful song just seeps through the air like a breeze, that’s just so lame” He sighed as his shoulders sank in defeat. In his head, the situation played out way more romantically. Armin would’ve said something sophisticated and deep about classical music and Jean would’ve instantly swooned and fallen in love with him. Yeah right. He noticed Eren and Mikasa staring at him in anticipation. Did one of them just ask him something? 

“So, how did it go?” Mikasa asked him, she seemed surprisingly curious. “How did what go?” Armin asked, obviously not having followed the conversation between his two friends. “About how that chemistry project went with that asshole, Jean” Eren butted in. “Was he a pain in the ass like always?” He said with noticeable hatred in his voice. Armin’s eyes avoided Eren’s as he recalled the painfully awkward memories of that Saturday. A frown appeared on Eren’s face. “Did he do something to you, Armin? I swear if he did, I’ll –“ The blond’s face turned red with embarrassment. “Eren!” Mikasa snapped at him. “Jean may be an insufferable prick, but I don’t think even he would do something like that” It was surprising to hear Mikasa defend Jean of all people to say the least. If anyone hated Jean as much as Eren did, it would be Mikasa. She seemed to hate people who always try to look “cool” in front of others, creating a certain image that wasn’t actually who they really were. While Eren called Jean things like asshole, dickwad, fuckstick or something like that, Mikasa preferred the more “clean” insults. Prick, creep, I think you understand the gist of it. “We just did the project, nothing more” Eren raised an eyebrow. “Really”, Armin said with the most gentle smile he could muster up on his face, an attempt to reassure his friend. Neither Eren nor Armin seemed to buy it however. 

The rest of the walk to school was awkward, to say the least. No one said anything after Eren accused Jean of doing “things” to Armin. Mikasa made an attempt to start up a new conversation, but this time about something else, a new topic. Of course, considering it was Mikasa, it didn’t really work. She made a comment about how much she didn’t want to go to school, which was a lie in the first place, and asked what classes Eren and Armin had. “Math”, Eren hesitantly responded. “I- I’ve got Music” Armin replied. Then, silence. The only thing that could be heard was their footsteps and the voices from the other students that were on their way to school as well. Who had the responsibility of breaking the awkward silence? Mikasa had already tried and failed miserably. It was either up to Eren or Armin. It seemed that it was too late however, as their school came into view. 

 

As Armin was putting away some books in his locker, Eren tapped him on the shoulder. “Me and Mikasa are headin’ for class, see ya” Things were still a bit uncomfortable between them. It wouldn’t take long for that to change, Armin knew that. He closed his locker and grabbed his school bag off the ground while his friends disappeared somewhere behind the lockers. Music class, with Jean. Luckily, Armin sat at the front of the class and Jean in the back. If he really wanted to avoid him, would it better to get to class early or at the last moment? Armin didn’t want to risk getting late to class, so he just warily walked to the classroom. He clutched his messenger bag , obviously cautious of running into Jean. “What must he have thought? What a weirdo? Armin tries way too hard, it’s just creepy?” He couldn’t get it out of his head. The door to the classroom was only a few steps away, but it didn’t seem like Jean was there yet. A few people had already gathered at the door. Annie, Reiner, Christa and, surprisingly enough, Sasha were already there. Armin approached and Sasha noticed. “Yo Armin!” She said, the others turned their gaze towards the young blond. “Good morning, Armin” Christa said in her usual joyful tone of voice. “Good morning…” Annie softly muttered. “Hey Armin!” Reiner exclaimed, looking down to meet Armin’s eyes. “Good morning, everyone” Armin answered, making yet another attempt at faking a smile. 

Waiting for Miss Jones, the music teacher, took not as long as expected. Mostly because Sasha kept rambling on about the food in the cafeteria and what had happened to her while on her way to school. Something about a dog and a shoe or something like that, maybe a dog took her shoe? Armin barely listened, but even if he did, he probably wouldn’t have understood the story more. Christa laughed and nodded, while Reiner made snarky comments about Sasha’s erratic behavior and Annie didn’t seem to care. After a few minutes, most of the students had gathered around the classroom door, Jean was still not in sight. “There she is” Someone suddenly said. Armin looked over to where someone was pointing. Miss Jones was speedwalking towards them, dragging her roller case behind her. People got out of her way and she opened the door to the classroom. As she moved out of the doorway to walk to her desk, the crowd of students pulled and pushed their way into the class. Last one to arrive in class, was Jean. He leisurely strutted towards his seat, sitting next to his best friend, Marco. 

Armin always took the front right seat, because that would mean that he would sit close to the teacher, making it easy to ask questions. But in music class, he sat in front of the piano, well he sat in front of the back of the piano, the teacher sat at the left side of the classroom. Occasionally, Armin would dose off in class, considering he wasn’t very interested in the whole “music theory” business. Most of the time spent in music class, was dedicated to playing on the keyboard or analyzing classical pieces handpicked by Miss Jones. Playing on the keyboard was easy for Armin, he would only have to remember the notes he had to play and at what rhythm. As for analyzing classical music, saying things like “the composition and use of percussion instruments was sublime, you could really hear the passion that the composer put in this” was enough to please Miss Jones. She was a young, yet quite strict teacher, she held the impressive record of sending twenty-five students to detention in one class. She wore glasses and always had her long, black hair in a ponytail. She had an obsessive interest in composers like Bach, Mozart, etcetera. Basically anything that was not from the twenty-first century. Her hatred for modern day rock, pop and rap was very obvious and outspoken. “Music like that tells no or an absurdly idiotic story, it shouldn’t even be called music!” Armin recalled hearing from her when someone suggested analyzing more recent music.

Class was starting and everyone fell quiet as Miss Jones announced the duos for the practical test that was scheduled for the next week. When a pair was named, the two students looked at each other, sometimes excited, sometimes “excited”. Armin was paired up with Reiner. He didn’t know how well Reiner was at playing keyboard. If he was bad at it, Armin could easily teach him. He locked eyes with Reiner. He gave Armin a smirk and Armin returned him a smile. Jean was paired up with Annie. “Probably not a great combination” Armin thought. Annie was a very quiet and reserved girl. She never really opened up to anyone, she was also pretty intimidating. Pairing her up with Jean, mister “loud mouth popularity freak”, wasn’t a great idea. Well, Jean was a loud mouth and popularity freak at school, not when he was alone at Armin’s house. Jean and Annie didn’t even lock eyes. Jean looked at Annie, but she didn’t bother catching his gaze.

Miss Jones put a CD in the laptop she took from her roller case. “Now, I’ll have you listen to some music. I’ll choose someone randomly to analyze the piece”. She hit the touch pad on her laptop and the music started. Armin immediately recognized it. Piano Etude, the song he and Jean had danced to.

Everyone was listening carefully, but Armin couldn’t focus. He knew Jean was going to recognize it as well. Hopefully neither of them were to be picked by Miss Jones. After roughly a minute, the music stopped. It was completely silent. No one wanted to be chosen to give their opinion, every time someone would give their honest opinion, Miss Jones would bash it mercilessly. Her gaze fell to a boy sitting all the in the back of the class. He was lazily starring out of the window. “Jean!” Miss Jones practically screamed through the classroom. “Tell me, what did you think of this piece?” He quickly turned to see a very angry teacher standing right in front of his desk and all eyes of the students on him. “Uhm” he hesitantly started off. “Most people would say that classical is boring, but I love the supple sound of the strings being hit, the harmony of this song, the obvious passion that someone put into making this beautiful song just seeps through the air like a breeze” he said smugly. People started giggling and Armin’s face turned a bright red. “Oh no” He thought, trying his best to hide his flushed cheeks. “I appreciate the effort, kirschtein, but this song is called ‘Piano Etude’, an etude is mainly used for practicing, there was no passion put in this” She bluntly said with a small smirk on her face. People’s giggling started becoming more audible and Armin started becoming even more red. Not only was Armin’s statement extremely sappy, it was also completely wrong.


	5. Chemistry and Self-Doubt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story draws to an end, as Armin constantly worries about Jean and if a relationship, if not a friendship, is even possible with him. Not only that, but he also has to hand in his chemistry project with him, which if not approved, will make Jean's chemistry grade unsalvageable. The pressure is on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it has actually been a year since I updated this fanfic. Whoops, I guess? Anyway, I was kind of struggling to finish this chapter, especially cause this one is a lot longer than my usual chapters, but I wanted to give you guys something bigger and better to compensate for all my procrastination. I also wrote the beginning to an "extra chapter", which is basically just a "where are they now?" story with some fluff and some Awkward Jean™. So if you guys are actually interested in that, let me know (and I swear I'll finish it the same week, I swear). And lastly, suggestions and prompts are appreaciated, considering I have no idea what to write about next. hope you guys have a great 2017!

Class drew to an end. Everyone seemed eager to leave, as most students were already sneakily packing their bags, their attention directed more towards the teacher’s line of sight than to her lecture. Occasionally, a pencil case or note book would quickly disappear under the table while Miss Jones wasn’t looking, because if she caught you packing your bag before the school bell had rung, she’d yell at you about how there were “still five minutes left” and you’d most definitely end up in detention. The entire class was dark and quiet while Miss Jones passionately talked about her favorite composer, the light of the projector harshly illuminating the faces of the tired, glassy eyed listeners, making them look almost ghost-like. Although no one looked forward to music class, Armin hated that specific music class the most out of everyone. A strange second-hand embarrassment had washed over him half way though class, when his crush, Jean Kirschtein, humiliated himself. 

“The obvious passion that someone put into making this beautiful song just seeps through the air like a breeze”, repeated over and over and over in Armin’s head, his face almost seeming permanently flushed red. He couldn’t focus on Miss Jones’ class, but that wasn’t exactly an issue. They barely had any tests and surely the next test wouldn’t be about “Franz Joseph Haydn, the genius composer who invented the string quartet”. When the students got some time to practice for their practical exam, however, it was. Armin did nothing but mess up. Then he dropped the sheet music, then he missed several notes, then he accidentally told Reiner to play the wrong note. It only added to the pressure and anxiety Armin already felt. His partner for the practical exam, Reiner, commented on Armin’s unusual ineptitude. “You’re usually not this clumsy”, he said. “S’ there somethin’ wrong?”. Armin waved it off as just being tired, even though he would’ve loved to vent to someone, anyone, about his “situation”. But, although he trusted Reiner, he didn’t know how he’d react or if he would even take him seriously. It wasn’t like Armin did anything wrong either, no one knew that Jean basically quoted him, but he couldn’t just shake off his feelings of uneasiness.

Time went by slower than expected. Those five minutes Armin had to wait for his class to end felt almost unbearable, but then again, what would he do when class ended? Jean would probably come up to talk to him after class and if he didn’t, they still had to turn in their chemistry project. Armin tried his best to come up with a plan, but with everything still swirling around in his head, he couldn’t think of any good solution. “I should just wait for Jean to leave, he’s always the first out of class when the bell rings anyway. No, I should just make a run for the door when class is done. Wait, what if I ask to go to the bathroom? Then again, Miss Jones would probably just tell me to wait till the end of class”. Before Armin could clear his head, the bell rang loudly. The faded expressions of the students got quickly replaced with lively, happy expressions. Everyone stood up from their seats, followed by the rowdy sound of their chairs being pushed back. People started up light conversation as they exited the classroom, probably talking about “how boring that class was” or something among those lines. Armin froze. He cautiously turned around and looked in Jean’s direction. Jean was already standing, heading for the door while talking to Marco. Armin quickly hid under his desk, slowly packing his things to stall time.

“Crap”, he softly muttered under his breath, practically feeling the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “I’ll just have to make a run for it. No, running is too suspicious”, he thought, struggling to put his pencil case in his bag. He let out a soft grunt as he was finally done putting everything away. He stood up and pondered further, wriggling his way out between the desks. “Why am I getting so worked up over this, it’s not like he said it to mock me-“. His thoughts suddenly cut off. “Was he, was he making fun of me?”. His grip on his bag straps tightened, an unnerving sense of composure and a rush of anxiety fell over Armin. Doubt filled his head, but he tried to brushed it off as best as he could. “He wouldn’t do that, would he?”, he thought, still feeling his elevated heart beat in his chest. Then, a voice called out to him. It was Marco, standing in the doorframe.

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The door closed loudly just before Marco could speak up. Miss Jones seemed more agitated than usual, she didn’t even acknowledge the two young students standing right next to her. She locked the door and walked away without saying a thing, her high heels clicking away rhythmically on the floor, accompanied with the sound of the wheels of her roller case. “Anyway”, Marco started off. “Jean asked me to tell you that he won’t be able to hand in your chemistry project with you at lunch”, he explained, his voice as calm and soothing as ever. “Uhm, why didn’t Jean just tell me that?”, Armin asked, fidgeting with his hands. He didn’t know Marco that well, so he was still a little shy around him. “I don’t know, to be honest. He said something about soccer club stuff”. Marco quickly flashed Armin a modest smile. “Well, I have class right now. I’ll talk to you later, Armin”, he said. As he walked away, he turned his head and waved, leaving Armin alone in the hallway.

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Lunch rolled around and, as expected, Jean was nowhere to be found, although it was difficult to see anything with all the students mingling about. Armin looked around the crowded cafeteria, trying to find his friends. Eren and Mikasa would usually sit at a table together with Connie and Sasha, but Armin couldn’t see them anywhere. Connie and Sasha were both very rowdy, so you could clearly hear them from any place in the cafeteria, but Armin couldn’t hear them at all. “Maybe they’re stuck in class or something”, he thought while frantically looking around for his friends, trying his best to not look like a complete awkward loner. Standing in middle of the room, watching students talk and joke around, Armin decided to sit down at an empty table and just wait for Eren and Mikasa to come to him. Once alone, Armin’s mind went back to Jean. Thinking about having to talk to him after he humiliated himself like that in class made Armin feel anxious. Well, it wasn’t like he had a choice or anything, he had to be present when handing in the project to his chemistry teacher and he couldn’t just ditch Jean, because he felt embarrassed. With one hand, Armin started thoughtlessly prodding at his food with his finger, the other holding his smart phone. The more time passed, the more self conscious Armin became. Minutes felt like hours. “Where are they?”, he thought, self consciously tapping away at his phone with no discernible goal. Armin glanced at the huge clock on the cafeteria wall. “Just 15 minutes left. Come on, guys. I don’t wanna eat lunch alone”. Just as the thought crossed his mind, he saw Eren walking towards him, followed closely by Mikasa. 

“Yo, Armin!”, Eren greeted him, his usual pep included. He dropped his bag on the ground and quickly sat down as Mikasa arrived at the table. “Sorry we’re late, hope we didn’t make you wait too long”, she calmly said. “Eren got in trouble with Mister Smith again”. Mikasa turned to Armin and gave him a small, apologetic smile, which put him a bit at ease. “He just gets pissed off every time I don’t do the homework”, Eren bitterly admitted, staring daggers at his sister. “Which is every time”, Mikasa coldly retorted. Armin chuckled. Watching them argue was surprisingly calming. He knew that their arguments never lasted longer than a few minutes, besides, it was all in good fun. Then again, Mikasa wasn’t exactly joking, she really did worry about her brother a lot, but her concern was definitely justified. Eren would always end up in trouble with teachers, since he was a very stubborn, outspoken person and, like Mikasa said, he never did his homework. Getting into arguments with teachers was inevitable for him, but Mikasa held him back. She didn’t want him to get expelled. 

“So, Armin”, Eren said. “You finally get to finish that shitty project with that dickhead, Jean, right?”. He seemed more excited for Armin to finish his “collaboration” with Jean, than he would’ve been if he had to do a project with Jean. Eren was probably just happy for Armin that he wouldn’t have to work on the project with him, considering he didn’t think very highly of Jean at all. “Yeah, we’re gonna hand it in after school, so I probably can’t walk home with you guys”. Eren leaned back in his chair, a devious smirk stretched across his face. “Good. T-That you’re done with that project, I mean. Not that you can’t walk home with us!”, he said. It wasn’t out of place for him to absolutely despise Jean, but why was he so satisfied? It wasn’t like Jean was inherently a bad guy, although from Eren’s perspective, he was. Their “rivalry” started all the way back in middle school, where they first met, but Armin couldn’t specifically remember exactly how it started. He had vague memories of Jean trying to hit on Mikasa (emphasis on tried) which Eren didn’t like. They were both also very outspoken people, which clashed often, but other than that, the origin of their constant fighting and bickering was unclear.

“Jean really isn’t that bad of a person, Eren”, Armin said, waiting for Eren to disagree like he expected him to. Eren gave him a surprised look and then quickly shifted to a more agitated one. “Whatever”, he said as he looked away. Just before he turned away, Armin could swear he could see Eren blushing. Blushing? What for? “Well”, Eren said a little too loudly. “After you turn in your project, you’ll never have to hang around that asshole again”, he continued, giving Armin expectant glances every now and then. Before Armin could say anything back, it clicked. Eren was jealous. He was jealous of Jean for spending so much time with Armin. “But why would he be?”, he pondered. They were best friends, practically inseparable, while Jean was just someone who Armin had to do a project with. Well, in Eren’s eyes anyway. Maybe, he knew that Armin had a crush on Jean. The thought scared him. Eren would definitely be equally as angry as he would be disappointed in Armin. Or maybe, Eren had a crush on Armin. “No, that can’t be it”, he quickly dismissed. Either way, Armin could possibly lose a best friend by asking Jean out. Then again, asking Jean out would be easier said than done. Armin didn’t exactly have an excuse to hang out with him again, unlike last time. 

“So many problems and they’re all caused by my crush on Jean”. Armin took a deep sign and slumped down into his chair, defeated. Suddenly, the school bell rung loudly, slightly startling the students. No one at the table said a thing as people around them started packing their bags. “We gotta go”, Mikasa awkwardly muttered, breaking the silence. “Yeah, me too”. Mikasa pulled on Eren’s shirt and, like he was snapped out of a trance, he quickly stood up and clutched his book bag. “B-Bye Armin!”, was the only thing he could get out of his mouth. He grabbed his sister and practically ran out of the cafeteria. 

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The classroom door. It looked more intimidating than usual, especially considering Armin was alone, standing in a gloomy hallway after school time. It was like he was about to meet a world renowned celebrity. Terrified, yet excited. Well, it wasn’t exactly like meeting a celebrity, but Armin was definitely excited to turn in his project. Luckily, the constant sound of students leaving the school premises made him feel a little less tense. For some reason knowing that there were still some people downstairs made him feel more comfortable. If the hallway would’ve been completely silent, he probably would’ve worried too much and would have had trouble getting out of his own head afterwards. Although he was confident his project would be approved, he was worrying about his grade. Chemistry was one of Armin’s best subjects, he didn’t want to let his grade slip because he was “lovesick”.

“After you turn in your project, you’ll never have to hang around that asshole again”, he suddenly remembered. He was trying his best to suppress thinking about it, he wanted to focus on finishing his project, but ultimately failed. Armin took a deep sigh and contemplated. “Maybe Eren’s right. Maybe I should just give up on Jean”. Unless Eren and Jean formed some sort of peace treaty or worked out whatever problems they had, a friendship, if not a relationship, with Jean was unconceivable. Besides, Mikasa wasn’t exactly fond of Jean either. He didn’t want to risk losing two of his best friends, but he didn’t just want to give up on Jean. Usually, Jean was cocky, conceited and loudmouthed, but having seen his softer, sweeter side gave Armin a new perspective on him. He wasn’t just some pretty face, he was a genuinely nice and likable person. Strangely enough, he felt a real connection with Jean. Yet, it wasn’t any different with Eren and Mikasa. He also felt a connection with them, but a different kind. They were like family to him.

He could just ask Jean out and never tell them. “No, I really can’t. It just feels wrong to lie to them”, he thought to himself. Going out and hanging around such a “popular” guy (infamous was probably a better word to describe him) as Jean wasn’t exactly easy to hide. Even then, what would Jean think about it? He wouldn’t just go along with lying to Armin’s best friends, right? Especially not Mikasa, considering he had a crush on her back in middle school. “Ugh, focus!”, Armin said quietly, softly slapping both of his hands on his face in unison. “Are you that nervous?”, an obviously out-of-breath voice suddenly said. Armin jumped at the sound and quickly turned around. At the top of the staircase next to the classroom door, stood Jean.

“Uhh”, Armin awkwardly began. “I don’t think slapping yourself is gonna do anything”, Jean sarcastically remarked. “I-I just heard somewhere that slapping yourself helps when you’re nervous”. “I’m pretty sure that’s only when you’re slapping someone else”, Jean said as he looked at Armin with a devious smirk, still softly panting. Armin looked down at the ground in embarrassment and noticed that Jean was holding a small stack of papers in his hand. “Is that-?”, but before he could finish, Jean proudly held up the stapled-together papers. “Ta-da! Our chemistry paper!”, he exclaimed. Armin smiled, relieved to see that Jean didn’t forget to bring it with him. “Now we just gotta hand it in. The teacher’s still not here?”, he asked. “I don’t think so”, Armin answered. Jean sighed and tried to catch his breath. His soccer club practice probably took longer than expected, so he had to run all the way from his club room to the chemistry class room or maybe he used “soccer club practice” as an excuse not to talk to him, considering his blunder during music class. Fortunately though, the teacher was also late. “Now”, Armin thought. “We just wait”. 

Armin didn’t really know what to say, so an awkward silence reared its head yet again, only broken by the last few people downstairs, loudly leaving to go home. He didn’t know what to do, so he started fidgeting with his hands. Occasionally, he would look at his phone, swipe away at the touch screen a few times, and put it away. He was even considering counting all the floor tiles in the hall, but he wasn’t desperate enough for that. “Just say something”, Armin thought. “I’m glad that we’re done with the project”, he uncharacteristically blurted out. Jean paused, seemingly not having heard Armin. “Uh, yeah, me too”, he quickly, yet halfheartedly answered. “Are you okay?”. Armin had noticed that Jean was blankly staring off into space just as they stopped talking. “Are you thinking about something?”. Jean, taken aback by Armin’s question, said, “Yeah”. “I was just about my chemistry grades”. “His chemistry grades?”, Armin thought to himself. “I’m really bad at chemistry, like really bad, and I was just thinking about how this project is probably one of my last chances to actually pass this year”. Then, Jean turned to Armin. “So, what I’m trying to say is-“, he paused dramatically. “thanks”. 

Armin could feel his face turn a soft red. He was embarrassed, but he couldn’t help but smile. “I’m glad I could be of help”, he said with a hint sarcastic intent. As if on cue, the chemistry teacher arrived. A coffee mug in one hand and a stack of papers in the other, presumably the chemistry papers. “I hope I didn’t make you boys wait too long”, he said in a jovial tone. The chemistry teacher, mister Harrison, was an old man with white hair and a long beard who was loved by most of his students. He was very easy-going when it came to homework and tests, yet Armin knew Jean still felt some pressure. Even considering mister Harrison’s “generosity” when it came to giving out good grades, Jean’s grade still remained on the line. They could get a bad grade or worse, their project wouldn’t even get approved at all. If their subject got rejected, they would instantly get an F, which would doom Jean’s grades even further.

The tension rose as mister Harrison, Armin, and Jean all entered the classroom. Mister Harrison sat at his desk, as Armin and Jean took the seats opposite of him. “Now”, he said, his big desk intimidatingly looming over both of his young students. “Your paper”.

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“Wham!”, the locker door sounded as it was slammed shut. Armin’s hand glided slowly across the cold steel of the closed school locker, still in slight shock after what had happened. He could still hear every single one of mister Harrison’s comments on Armin and Jean’s paper. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say here“. “This paper doesn’t really have any direction”. “I didn’t expect this from you, Arlert”. “I don’t think I can accept this paper”. He wasn’t expecting anything like that. It was the first time his work had ever gotten critiqued. Something on which Jean’s chemistry grade depended nonetheless. But, and it pained him to admit it, mister Harrison was right. When the teacher pointed out the mistakes in the paper, it all became clear to Armin just how half-assed it really was. Grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, no direction, a vague conclusion, and so much more. Armin couldn’t help but blame himself as he looked back at when he and Jean were working together. All he did was ogle Jean while typing out incoherent, unclear thoughts. He didn’t even check the paper beforehand like he usually would. Jean said he didn’t mind getting another F on chemistry, but Armin couldn’t just shake off his feelings of regret like that. He knew Jean relied on him for a good grade and he failed him. His one chance to get close to the person he loved.

After constantly hearing students leaving from up at the classroom, it was finally Armin’s turn to go home, although probably not as triumphantly as they did. With his book bag clutched closely to his chest, he took a step towards the front door without looking back at Jean before being stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Of course, it was Jean’s. “Uhh”, he awkwardly started. Armin looked at him with a glimmer in eyes, obviously hoping he’d say something, anything, to brighten up his day. “I’ll….. see you tomorrow”, he said with an awkward, slightly slanted smile on his face. Ultimately let down by his own expectations, Armin said his goodbyes to Jean and turned around. He was hoping that Jean would’ve maybe reassured him that he was fine, but he shouldn’t have had to. The one who should’ve been consoling the other was Armin. “Right”, Armin muttered, his head down in shame. It was finally time to leave. Time to put that awful day behind him, go home and continue his life like nothing had happened. He hurried towards the exit.

“Armin!”, Jean suddenly called out, standing in the large doorway. Strangely, his expression was pained and angry, unlike his usual bored look or his cocky smile. “I don’t care that we failed that stupid ass paper!”, he said, finally giving Armin the reassurance he so desperately wanted. “I actually have something to confess”. His words caught Armin off guard. “something to confess”, he thought, hoping Jean would say what Armin wished he would say. Jean took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself down, but he remained looking quite tense. “I didn’t just ask you to be my partner because you’re good at chemistry, I asked you because-“. He paused and averted his gaze from Armin. A warm sensation spread across Jean’s cheeks as he mentally prepared to admit his true intentions. “I asked you because I wanted to get closer to you”. The more Jean continued, the more hopeful Armin became. He stared wide eyed at Jean, taken aback by his current situation. He wanted to pinch himself to check if he was dreaming, but he stood frozen in place, his heart beating out of his chest. “Do you-“, he started. He clenched his fists and confidently looked Armin in the eyes before he continued. “-want to go out with me?”

“I know it’s kind of weird, cause I don’t know you that well. I mean, I don’t even know if you’re-“. “Yes!”, Armin abruptly cut him off. He smiled from ear to ear, as if that day didn’t even happen. “I’ll go out with you!”. Jean was surprised at his unusual bold attitude, but quickly shook it off. He took a deep sigh and smiled back at Armin. “Thanks”, he said. “I’ll, uh, text you!”, he said, awkwardly standing in the doorway to the school. Looking at Jean, a faint giggle escaped from Armin’s mouth. “He’s kind of cute when he’s shy”, he thought. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Jean!”. He turned towards the school gate and ran, but not before catching a glimpse of Jean sheepishly waving him goodbye. He kept running, and running, until he passed the school gate, not even stopping to take a breather despite feeling a bit dizzy from the sudden rush of adrenaline. With his heart beating in his ears, he made a b-line for his house, practically on the verge of tears. “Maybe this Monday didn’t turn out quite as bad as I expected it to”.


End file.
